Beers

Rogue Ales master brewer John Maier has brewed his 10,000th batch. (In fact, he brewed it Nov. 14 of last year, but Maier is not one to rush a beer out of the brewery.)

Maier brewed the first batch of Rogue Ales in a garage on the Yaquina Bayfront in Newport, Oregon, on May 18, 1989. In the 18 years since he created and brewed 60-plus beers.

But to the important stuff. What about the beer; what’s the style?

“It’s not any style, but it will be good,” Maier is quoted as saying in a Rogue press release.

To brew the beer he used Vienna, French special aroma and Maris Otter pale malts; Yakima Summit and German Saphir hops; the top-fermenting Pacman yeast; and as always free range coastal waters.

The specs: 22 Plato, 78 AA, 60 IBU, 30 Lovibond. It is packaged in 750ml black ceramic bottles with swingtop closures. Maier, as you can see from the illustration, is pictured on the front. Only 10,000 serigraphed bottles are available.

What’s to happen to The Gambrinus Co. now that is is no longer importing Corona or Moosehead beers?

Well, for one thing, expect to see the Texas-based company put more resources behind the Shiner brand. Shiner beers will roll out in Chicago in April,director of marketing Charlie Paulette told the San Antonio Express-News.

“This is huge. We’ve had people asking for it there for years,” Paulette said.

Paulette also reported that BridgePort Brewing sales climbed 10% in 2006 and Trumer Pils skyrocketed 60%.

Strong Beer Month is underway at Magnolia Pub and Brewery and 21st Amendment in San Francisco, blending nicely with Toronado’s Barleywine Festival and Celebrator’s Beerapalooza.

For Strong Beer Month, beer are served in a commemorative 13.5 ounce glasses. Drink all twelve strong ales (six at each brewery) and the glass is yours. Commemorative 2007 Strong Beer Month T-shirts are also available. The brewpubs will also have special library strong beers from years past presented throughout the month and special food dishes paired with the strong beers.

How do American beers stack up against others in the world?

Sure they do well in the World Beer Cup, but that’s on American soil. What if you put them on a boat first? We’ll find out in April, because the Brewers Association Export Development Program (EDP) announced today that 19 BA members and EDP subscribers will particpate in the Australian International Beer Awards.

Several American breweries have entered the AIBA in the past, and won awards, but not a group like this. In 2006, the Australian International Beer Awards attracted 974 entries from 31 countries. AIBA uses the Brewers Association’s Beer Style Guidelines.

The Brewers Association’s Export Development Program, in an effort to help promote the image of American craft beer as a world class beverage, pays for entry fees and transportation into select international beer shows for its program subscribers, such as the AIBA.

The breweries entered:
21st Amendament Brewery Cafe, San Francisco
Blue Point Brewing, Patchogue, New York
Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Oregon
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Delaware
Eugene City Brewer, Eugene, Oregon
Flying Dog Brewery, Denver
Full Sail Brewing, Hood River, Oregon
Great Divide Brewing, Denver
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, Michigan
Kona Brewery, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Rogue Ales Issaquah Brewhouse, Issaquah, Washington
Left Hand Brewing, Longmont, Colorado
Matt Brewing, Utica, N.Y.
Odell Brewing, Fort Collins, Colorado
Rogue Ales, Newport, Oregon
Shipyard Brewing, Portland, Maine
Sprecher Brewing, Glendale, Wisconsin
Stone Brewing, Escondido, California
Widmer Brothers, Portland, Oregon

Judging takes place in March in Melbourne with winners announced April 19.

Stuff to talk about around the water cooler today:

– Deschutes Brewery is about to announce it will operate a pub in Portland.

– Miller is shelving its broadcast Man Law commercials.

Faced with an increasingly competitive light beer market, Miller Brewing Company is introducing new television ads that focus on the taste and heritage of its flagship brand. The spots will replace the popular Man Law campaign, which Miller said will continue on-line and may return to the airwaves opportunistically in the future.

The first wave of the new episodic advertising approach broke over the weekend. The “GHT” ads featured a guy preventing people from drinking light beers with “GHT” and instead giving them Miller Lite. The ads position Miller Lite as ‘the light beer that invented light beer’, the original light beer that’s always been brewed to be great.

Nothing like leaning on tradition.